Hotel Café Royal
The new Hotel Café Royal occupies several historic buildings in the Grade II listed southern quadrant of Regent Street, just off Piccadilly Circus. The brief required combining three separate structures squeezed onto an irregular footprint and converting them into a luxury hotel. The historic façades on Regent Street, Air Street and Glasshouse Street, as well as a number of historic rooms within, had to be retained. Working with restoration specialists Donald Insall Associates, a strategy which worked closely with the existing architecture to integrate new and old was developed. The historic fabric was restored and reinstated where possible, while the new spaces continued the richness of the existing buildings in a simplified language.
The new Hotel Café Royal occupies several historic buildings in the Grade II listed southern quadrant of Regent Street, just off Piccadilly Circus. The brief required combining three separate structures squeezed onto an irregular footprint and converting them into a luxury hotel. The historic façades on Regent Street, Air Street and Glasshouse Street, as well as a number of historic rooms within, had to be retained. Working with restoration specialists Donald Insall Associates, a strategy which worked closely with the existing architecture to integrate new and old was developed. The historic fabric was restored and reinstated where possible, while the new spaces continued the richness of the existing buildings in a simplified language.
The completed building retains the pedestrian entrance on Regent Street and adds a second entrance on Air Street to accommodate for vehicular drop off. All public spaces for the hotel – bars, restaurants, and a café – are arranged across the ground, first, and second floors. 160 guestrooms and five luxury suites occupy the five floors above while two basement levels house a spa centred around an 18-metre swimming pool.
The first floor houses members’ facilities – lounges, private dining rooms, and meeting spaces, as well as a business centre. On the second floor, the fully restored Pompadour Suite serves as a banqueting hall, with a rich historical palette of ochre, amber and gold. The basement spa has been crafted from stacked precast concrete elements honed to a terrazzo finish.
The details of the design reference the historic elements of the building and the architectural context of Regent Street. A wide range of materials complement the building’s history and align with the function of the rooms. The new guest rooms use a palette of Carrera marble, Marmorina plasterwork, leather and glass inspired by the rusticated façades of Regent Street. Similarly, the bar at the corner of Air Street and Glasshouse Street uses the same idea of rustication expressed with wall-mounted green glass panels. Like the historic lobby, the new ground-floor café also uses Giallo Sienna marble, but fashioned differently. Next door to the café, the Art Deco Ten Room has been reinstated with its original mezzanine to house the hotel’s main restaurant. Completing the ground floor, a series of oak-lined spaces connect the historic lobby and the fully restored Grill Room.